How Metroid and Wind Waker influenced the next Star Wars game

Image credit: Respawn Entertainment

Respawn Entertainment finally revealed the first official Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order trailer during this year's annual Star Wars Celebration event. And while the official reveal gave us a lucrative taste of Jedi: Fallen Order's storyline, Respawn was a bit sketchy on details surrounding the title's actual gameplay mechanics and how combat would work.

During the Jedi: Fallen Order panel, Respawn teased that the game would require "thoughtful combat", but what exactly does that mean? Well, thanks to a follow-up interview, we may have a better idea.

Speaking to Press Start, game director Stig Asmussen and director of franchise content and strategy for the Lucasfilm Story Group, Steve Blank revealed Jedi: Fallen Order's combat will require a bit more strategy and patience than your typical single-player title. 

"It means you really have to understand not only the enemy that you’re going up against, but the group of enemies, and they each have their own strengths, and they each have their own weaknesses," Asmussen told Press Start. "You have to figure out what tools that you have in your skill set to best take them down."

While this may conjure thoughts that Jedi: Fallen Order will be in the same vein as the Soulborne series (without the difficulty) - and those games did have an influence to some degree - Respawn found true inspiration from games such as Zelda and Metroid.

"If you look at a game like Zelda Wind Waker, as you get different abilities, each enemy is crafted in a certain way, or even Metroid," Asmussen continued. 

"The enemies are crafted in a certain way that once you upgrade, you can think about how you’re going to approach them differently, and maybe they aren’t as big a challenge as they were at one point."

So, we can expect a progressive system rather than a simple hack n' slash? That sounds like the Star Wars game we were looking for...

(Image credits: Respawn Entertainment)

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An award-winning games journalist, with seven years of experience in games journalism and a degree in journalism from City University, London, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer, The Telegraph, VG247, Dot Esports and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel, as she’s previously appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Ulster and more. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.

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